Pokémon cards theft leads to drug bust in Arizona involving baby

YAVAPAI COUNTY, Ariz. - The alleged theft of hundreds of dollars worth of Pokémon cards led to the arrests of a man and woman who had drugs in the backseat next to a baby, authorities say.

The Prescott Valley Police Department said on April 19, officers responded to reports of a shoplifting at a business. 

"The business reported they had been observing two persons since September 2022 who were suspected of stealing various items on eight different occasions," police said.

The man and woman, 26-year-old Tyler Moore and 25-year-old Brittany Bender, are said to have stolen consumable goods, baseball cards, football cards, among other items.

April 19 is when the store's loss prevention team says Moore stole nearly $500 worth of Pokémon cards.

"Just after midnight on April 22, a vehicle pulled into the suspect’s driveway. The officer found both Tyler Moore and Brittany Bender in the vehicle and Brittany’s 7-month-old baby asleep in a car seat in the back seat," police said.

Moore and Bender reportedly have a history of illegal drug possession and when police spoke with them, they gave inconsistent stories.

A K-9 officer searched their car and reportedly found more than a pound of marijuana, bags of cocaine, 20 chocolate bars with psilocybin, and a gun.

"The chocolate psilocybin bars were in boxes next to the 7-month-old baby in the back seat," police detailed.

Moore and Bender are accused of possession of dangerous drugs, possession of narcotics, possession of a weapon in a drug offense and endangerment.